Motorsport: Booth feels the benefit from new drive

Andy Booth's Team Kiwi car was a Holden; now Team Kiwi is going Ford, but Booth is sticking with Holden in a new team.

Former New Zealand V8 champion Andy Booth will benefit this season from a relationship with the Melbourne Supercar team Tasman Motorsport, which intends to lift its New Zealand profile.

Tasman, part-owned by Greg Murphy's father, Kevin, runs Jason Richards in the Australian Supercar championship, and intends to sign Murphy for an all-Kiwi lineup.

Kevin Murphy said yesterday his son's deal had yet to be finalised, but the team wanted to connect with Holden fans on this side of the Tasman because of the imminent move of Team Kiwi to the Ford camp.

Tasman approached Booth about an association in the New Zealand V8 championship that could pave the way for the Aucklander to earn a Tasman drive in the endurance rounds of the Supercar series next season.

In the meantime, Kevin Murphy expects to be able to offer some technical expertise to Booth, and travel deals and incentives for local Holden fans and dealers.

Booth finished third in the V8 championship last season after winning the previous two.

He described the season as a disappointment from the start. "We had to match the pace of the Fords and we didn't do it. We didn't do enough pre-season testing, and the game had moved on.

"I don't think we've got any magical thing that makes us unbeatable, but we're better prepared with some new people, including a full-time data engineer, and some Tasman know-how."

Booth and fellow Aucklander Paul Manuell, also a former champion, will team in two of Wayne Anderson's Holdens, running for different sponsors. Last season, Kayne Scott in a Holden won the title but the Fords were generally quicker than the Holdens. Booth is not sure how the technical regulations that theoretically produce equality will work out. "We will be using harder tyres that will last forever. I think they're horrible to drive on and take a lot of the fun out of driving the cars.

"At Pukekohe you'll really feel it."

Booth is even less impressed by the decision to make the third race of each meeting a full reverse grid start instead of only the leading eight starting in reverse order.

"It's a joke," he said. "They should stop calling themselves Motorsport and make that Motorcircus. The Australian series shows it doesn't work, and that is with professional drivers.

"It's apparently to give the slower cars more television exposure. But the pressure will be on them, and it will make them look bad."

The season begins next weekend at Pukekohe, where there will also be Formula Ford, Toyota, Porsche GT-3, Mini Cooper and production car races.